1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a document processing apparatus which performs predetermined processing on image data generated by reading an original image, and a document processing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, various kinds of electronic data, and processing of the electronic data have come to be managed by a sharing server. Examples of the sharing server include a file server that stores and manages electronic data of electronic documents and the like, and a workflow management server that handles processes (for data registration, an approval flow, and an application flow, and so forth) performed on documents.
Particularly in the field of form processing, there has been proposed a technique in which an identifier is embedded in a sheet to be scanned, and is associated with such a process as mentioned above, and if the identifier is contained in an image scanned in by an apparatus, a predetermined process (document processing) set in advance is automatically started (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-99700).
Further, there has also been proposed a technique of not only performing a predetermined processing on image data recognized to be of a business form but also further performing a specific processing on the image data in an auxiliary manner depending on contents of entry to the business form (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H11-110457).
Thus, the above-described techniques makes it possible for a document processing apparatus to perform a predetermined process set in advance on a fixed format, such as a business form, registered in advance in the apparatus, when the fixed format is scanned in.
However, the above-described conventional document processing apparatus suffers from the following problems: There is a case where the predetermined processing is desired to be executed on a document other than the fixed format registered in advance in the apparatus. As an example of the case, there may be mentioned a case in which contents to be entered in the fixed format are entered in a sheet other than a sheet of the fixed format. Let it be assumed, for example, that a meeting minutes form has been registered as the fixed format. The proper process is that a user prints out a fixed format sheet of this registered meeting minutes form, enters the details of a meeting in the sheet, and causes the sheet to be scanned in by the document processing apparatus, thereby causing the apparatus to execute predetermined processing set in advance in the apparatus. However, there also exists a situation in which the user cannot avoid using a sheet other than the fixed format sheet. For example, the user forgets to bring minutes forms into a meeting, and enters meeting minutes in sheets other than the fixed format sheets for entry of meeting minutes. Further, for example, the amount of the whole meeting minutes is more than can be entered in one meeting minutes form, so that he/she enters a continued part of the details in a sheet other than the fixed format sheet of the meeting minutes form.
In the above-described cases, it is impossible for the above-described conventional document processing apparatus to perform the processing set in advance on a sheet other than the fixed format sheet.